Fairtrade Fortnight

Everyone deserves to earn a living wage and this is one of Fairtrade Fortnight’s many aims. This two-week event is to raise awareness of Fairtrade products (currently totalling over 6,000). This year’s event is aimed at highlighting the plight of the farmers in the developing world and help ensure that they earn a living wage.

For example, the chocolate industry is a hundred billion dollar industry, with the largest players making huge profits and yet the hardworking cocoa farmer makes less than $1.25 dollars per day! That puts them below the threshold of absolute poverty. On average a cocoa farmer will make less than 3.2% on the price of a typical chocolate bar – and tea and coffee farmers face similar predicaments.

Whilst on a more environmental level, the cocoa production in Ghana (the world’s second largest cocoa producer), is not environmentally sustainable and causes a multitude of problems including ozone depletion and water and soil contamination by pesticides.

To find out how you can get involved and to help improve the impoverished farmer’s lot, as well as dealing with many other pressing environmental issues, visit: https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/en/get-involved/current-campaigns/fairtrade-fortnight